In 1993 a substellar companion was reported. Subsequent observations did not confirm this claim, but a paper accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics in 2015 shows evidence for a planetary companion.

Visibility

Aldebaran is one of the easiest stars to find in the night sky, partly due to its brightness and partly due to its spatial relation to one of the more noticeable asterisms in the sky. If one follows the three stars of Orion's belt from left to right (in the Northern Hemisphere) or right to left (in the Southern), the first bright star found by continuing that line is Aldebaran.

Since the star is located (by chance) in the line of sight between the Earth and the Hyades, it has the appearance of being the brightest member of the more scattered Hyadesopen star cluster that makes up the bull's-head-shaped asterism; however, the star cluster is actually more than twice as far away, at about 150 light years.

In this predawn occultation, Aldebaran has just reappeared on the dark limb of the waning crescent Moon (July 1997 still frame captured from video).

Aldebaran is close enough to the ecliptic to be occulted by the Moon. Such occultations occur when the Moon's ascending node is near the autumnal equinox. A number of such events occur every revolution of the Moon starting at 29 Jan 2015 and ending at 3 Sep 2018. Each event is visible from a different location on Earth, but always in the northern hemisphere (or southern close to the equator). That means that people from Australia or South Africa never can observe an Aldebaran occultation. This is due to the fact that Aldebaran is slightly too far south of the ecliptic. A reasonably accurate estimate for the diameter of Aldebaran was obtained during the September 22, 1978 occultation.[11] Aldebaran is in conjunction with the Sun around June 1 of each year.[12]

Double star

Five faint stars appear close enough to Aldebaran in its visual field for astronomers to consider it[citation needed] a double star association. These stars were given alphabetic secondary star designations more or less in the order of their discovery, with the letter A reserved for the primary star. The better known characteristics of these optical double stars are listed in the table below with the primary star, Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri A), shown for reference.[13]

Some surveys have indicated that Alpha Tauri B may have about the same proper motion and parallax as Aldebaran and thus may be a physical binary system. However these measurements are difficult to make because the dim B component appears so close to the bright primary star. The resulting margin of error is too large to positively establish (or exclude) a physical relationship between the two stars. So far neither the B component, nor anything else, has been unambiguously shown to be physically associated with Aldebaran.[20]

Alpha Tauri CD is a binary system with the C and D component stars gravitationally bound to and co-orbiting each other. These co-orbiting stars have been shown to be located far beyond Aldebaran and are members of the Hyades star cluster. As with the rest of the stars in the cluster they do not physically interact with Aldebaran in any way.[15]

Claims of a planetary system

In 1993, radial velocity measurements of Aldebaran, Arcturus and Pollux showed that Aldebaran exhibited a long-period radial velocity oscillation, which could be interpreted as a substellar companion. The measurements for Aldebaran implied a companion with a minimum mass 11.4 times that of Jupiter in a 643-day orbit at a separation of Script error: No such module "convert". in a mildly eccentric orbit. However, all three stars surveyed showed similar oscillations yielding similar companion masses, and the authors concluded that the variation was likely to be intrinsic to the star rather than due to the gravitational effect of a companion.[21] Subsequent observations have not confirmed any substellar companions in orbit around Aldebaran.[22]

A paper accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics in 2015 says that analysis of observations shows evidence for both a planetary companion and stellar activity.[23]

Etymology

From Arabic الدبران (al-dabarān), meaning "the follower" (of the Pleiades)

Myths

This easily seen and striking star in its suggestive asterism is a popular subject for ancient and modern myths.

Mexican culture: For the Seris of northwestern Mexico, this star is providing light for the seven women giving birth (Pleiades). It has three names: Hant Caalajc Ipápjö, Queeto, and Azoj Yeen oo Caap ("star that goes ahead"). The lunar month corresponding to October is called Queeto yaao "Aldebaran's path".[24]

Aboriginal culture: In the Clarence River of northeastern New South Wales, this star is the Ancestor Karambal, who stole another man's wife. The woman's husband tracked him down and burned the tree in which he was hiding. It is believed that he rose to the sky as smoke and became the star Aldebaran.[25]

In Hindu mythology Aldebaran is known by the name Rohini and is the fourth of the 27 daughters of Daksha given to God Chandra(moon) as wives. The Moon God enamoured by the beauty of Rohini started spending all his time with her neglecting the others. (This amounts to moon not going round the constellations of zodiac and remaining in one place!). Daksha got angry and cursed him to suffer by slow desiccation. After pleading to the lord Shiva the curse was held at bay and the moon was rejuvenated by shiva's grace for 15 days and desiccated for another 15 days thus waning and waxing to make a lunar month.